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Next week at last!!!!

From next week all non UK lorries will be subjected to a £10 per day tax. This is in retaliation by the Government for the taxes and tolls we have to pay in countries like France. The money is supposed to go towards road maintenance.

It seems to be a good idea but, with a bit of organised logistics, lorry operators could get around these charges. By arranging the exchange of cargos at the ports (switching incoming loaded trailers to UK traction units), the foreign lorries can avoid coming out onto UK roads. And the foreign traction units could then pick up UK-loaded trailers as they arrive at the ports. When we are at the ferry terminals we often see trailers parked without their traction units, so I would bet that some companies already work in this manner. It would not take experienced transport managers much effort to extend the practice much more widely.
For the companies, this might be considerably cost effective, making savings in payment expenses for long trips into foreign countries, reduced costs per traction unit (fuel and vehicle maintenance), and lower insurance premiums for lorries not travelling across the channel.
For UK drivers, a vast reduction of the often problematic foreign lorry drivers on our roads.
Don't redirect current budgets for road maintenance yet, Mr Osbourne!!!

It seems to be a good idea but, with a bit of organised logistics, lorry operators could get around these charges. By arranging the exchange of cargos at the ports (switching incoming loaded trailers to UK traction units), the foreign lorries can avoid coming out onto UK roads. And the foreign traction units could then pick up UK-loaded trailers as they arrive at the ports. When we are at the ferry terminals we often see trailers parked without their traction units, so I would bet that some companies already work in this manner. It would not take experienced transport managers much effort to extend the practice much more widely.
For the companies, this might be considerably cost effective, making savings in payment expenses for long trips into foreign countries, reduced costs per traction unit (fuel and vehicle maintenance), and lower insurance premiums for lorries not travelling across the channel.
For UK drivers, a vast reduction of the often problematic foreign lorry drivers on our roads.
Don't redirect current budgets for road maintenance yet, Mr Osbourne!!!

UK traction pays, and will continue to pay, VED, so there will be little advantage to trailer swaps at the port. That said - many trans Europe hauliers like Dentstangle and ES, send unaccompanied trailers on the ferry. Anyone who has been on one will surely have noticed them being loaded.

The reason hauliers send their own drivers and traction over the channel is to retain control. In fact the charges for unaccompanied trailers are not much less than accompanied ones.

This new tax is intended to level the field a little. Up to now, foreign trucks pay nothing towards the cost of the infrastructure that they use. Germany has the maut and France and other countries have tolls.

This from a REPUTABLE site:

"The Department for Transport said about 260,000 UK-registered trucks would come into scope of the charge, while about 130,000 eligible foreign-registered trucks enter the UK each year, making a total of about 1.5 million journeys.

The system will cost the taxpayer between £2.5 million and £5 million to set up in the first year. Following that, revenues from foreign hauliers paying into the system will generate annual surpluses of £18.7 million to £23.2 million.

Foreign hauliers will pay £10 a day or £1,000 a year to drive on British roads with a 40-tonne truck. Lighter vehicles pay proportionately less. The fees are the highest that Britain can impose under EU law.

The department is proposing a fixed penalty (or for those based outside the UK, a penalty deposit) of £300 for those failing to pay the appropriate levy amount for a vehicle"